A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $3 million on Friday, June 12, 2026, in the opening session of Heritage Auctions' June 12–13 Video Games Signature Auction. Per Heritage, the price sets a new record for the game, surpassing the $2 million mark set in a 2021 private sale.
Why this copy broke the record
This wasn't just any copy. It's graded PSA 9.6 A++ — the highest-graded example of the earliest sealed edition of the game that put Nintendo on the map. It carries the coveted gloss sticker adopted in early 1986, making it the earliest confirmed sealed copy, and it's one of only three known sealed copies from this second-production run — a variant that had never before appeared at public auction sealed. Of those three, this is the finest (the others grade VGA 80 and Wata 9.4 A++).
The backstory is the kind collectors dream about: Heritage says the cartridge was discovered just a few months ago inside a brand-new Control Deck NES console bundle — untouched for nearly 40 years. "It is only appropriate that the most significant video game in the world should bring the more impressive result in the history of the hobby," said Evan Masingill, Heritage's Consignment Director for Video Games, who noted the discovery story "makes the result even more impressive."
What it signals for collectors
Three things stacked here — highest grade, earliest production variant, and sealed-since-new provenance. That combination, not the title alone, is what produces record numbers. For everyone else the takeaway is the same as always: with sealed and graded games, the grade, the production variant, and the chain of custody drive the value — and authentication is everything. Verify the holder and the grader before you ever wire a dollar.
Signal, not an appraisal. Figures reported by Heritage Auctions.
